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Thoughts on authorized dealers raising GEC prices above the minimum sale price.

Nobody needs more than one or two pocket knives for their whole life! And that is if you are a rancher or hunting guide. As a pure user, there are much better choices than a GEC in terms of blade steel and durability, and they cost a lot less than a GEC (Buck, Victorinox, and lots of others) - but that’s not why GEC is so popular.

Traditional GEC knives are a fun pocket toy and a lovely piece of Americana from when most people made their living in agriculture and ranching, and tools of all types were not so easily available. They are nice knives, yes, but a Buck 301 is a far better choice for everyday use on a practical level.

I don’t think anyone out there cares that it is a hassle for you to obtain your 7th or 77th or 700th knife, or that it cost you 75$ more than you were hoping.

 
The Amazing Virginian said:
IMO, with a few exceptions, you have to be pretty well off to pay $300 plus for a user pocket knife, and there are other "good enough" options for a ton less. Then again . . . what's the point of even having more than 2 or 3 pocket knives? That's where it all starts. How many of us have 6? 10? 20? 40? We're way beyond "user" somewhere in there.

BTW, what's leica - maybe their brand recognition isn't as good as you think.
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Leica are the Rolex of the camera world.
 
rcs86 said:
Agreed. I'm a buyer and generally not a seller, but If I decide to sell some on the exchange for good prices... well let's say I have a list that I'm not selling to no matter what.
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Yep. Over the last few months, I started a list of people who either purchase a knife from a dealer and then flip it within a month for at least a 100% markup, or who have a habit of purchasing knives on the exchange to flip at a huge markup. So far there are over 70 people on the list and I haven't even being paying much attention. A few of them have posted in this very thread, defending flippers (imagine that).

I also have a nice list of dealers that won't be seeing a cent from me in the future. There are a lot them and it would probably be easier to list the dealers who DIDN'T decide the gouge with the recent GEC releases.

CollectorKnives had no markup above MSR. Neither did DLT Trading. BladeHQ only had a markup of about $5 from what I saw. I'm pretty sure KnivesShipFree had no markup. New River Knives also apparently didn't have a markup.

I didn't check them all, but the ones I know that had a significant markup were; TheKnifeConnection, Grand Prairie Knives (GPK), TSA Knives, Gunstock Jacks, Northwest Knife Company, TripleXXX Cutlery, and Country Knives.

*edited to add another good dealer
 
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Fixall said:
Yep. Over the last few months, I started a list of people who either purchase a knife from a dealer and then flip it within a month for at least a 100% markup, or who have a habit of purchasing knives on the exchange to flip at a huge markup. So far there are over 70 people on the list and I haven't even being paying much attention. A few of them have posted in this very thread, defending flippers (imagine that).

I also have a nice list of dealers that won't be seeing a cent from me in the future. There are a lot them and it would probably be easier to list the dealers who DIDN'T decide the gouge with the recent GEC releases.

CollectorKnives had no markup above MSR. Neither did DLT Trading. BladeHQ only had a markup of about $5 from what I saw. I'm pretty sure KnivesShipFree had no markup.

I didn't check them all, but the ones I know that had a significant markup were; TheKnifeConnection, Grand Prairie Knives (GPK), TSA Knives, Gunstock Jacks, Northwest Knife Company, TripleXXX Cutlery, and Country Knives.
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I'd put up the full list somewhere so it can be linked to.
 
Pomsbz said:
I'd put up the full list somewhere so it can be linked to.
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I’d be interested in that list also. I sold a couple GECs recently for what I paid, would like to know if they were flipped. When I sell I mark them sold but leave the price in the listing. No secrets here.
 
Elgatodeacero said:
Nobody needs more than one or two pocket knives for their whole life! And that is if you are a rancher or hunting guide. As a pure user, there are much better choices than a GEC in terms of blade steel and durability, and they cost a lot less than a GEC (Buck, Victorinox, and lots of others) - but that’s not why GEC is so popular.

Traditional GEC knives are a fun pocket toy and a lovely piece of Americana from when most people made their living in agriculture and ranching, and tools of all types were not so easily available. They are nice knives, yes, but a Buck 301 is a far better choice for everyday use on a practical level.

I don’t think anyone out there cares that it is a hassle for you to obtain your 7th or 77th or 700th knife, or that it cost you 75$ more than you were hoping.

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Any friend of Jackson Browne, is a friend of mine!
 
Pomsbz said:
Leica are the Rolex of the camera world.
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Thanks.

Fixall said:
Yep. Over the last few months, I started a list of people who either purchase a knife from a dealer and then flip it within a month for at least a 100% markup, or who have a habit of purchasing knives on the exchange to flip at a huge markup. So far there are over 70 people on the list and I haven't even being paying much attention. A few of them have posted in this very thread, defending flippers (imagine that).

I also have a nice list of dealers that won't be seeing a cent from me in the future. There are a lot them and it would probably be easier to list the dealers who DIDN'T decide the gouge with the recent GEC releases.

CollectorKnives had no markup above MSR. Neither did DLT Trading. BladeHQ only had a markup of about $5 from what I saw. I'm pretty sure KnivesShipFree had no markup.

I didn't check them all, but the ones I know that had a significant markup were; TheKnifeConnection, Grand Prairie Knives (GPK), TSA Knives, Gunstock Jacks, Northwest Knife Company, TripleXXX Cutlery, and Country Knives.
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How do you know these folks purchased their knife from a dealer, as opposed to in the secondary market?

kerryle00 said:
Any friend of Jackson Browne, is a friend of mine!
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Big fan of his music. Not sure I would care for him personally if I met him. Oddly, the song posted above is one of my least favorites.
"Doctor My Eyes" . . . "Rock Me on the Water" . . . "Boulevard" . . . "Fountain of Sorrow" . . . I love everything on "Running on Empty" - especially "Love Needs a Heart," which is one of my favorite songs by anyone ever.
 
Paying these inflated prices on new GEC’s is a little silly.
On a lot of these runs each cover runs in the 4-500 range on a lot of patterns.

Most of the older runs are way less in numbers and I see the prices for the new ones exceeding the older patterns.

Now I have not bought any lately but I have read about the QC may have dipped a bit on certain knives.
So there is no way I am going to pay a premium price for a knife that has a high number run and less quality than past runs.
 
bigfish64 said:
I’d be interested in that list also. I sold a couple GECs recently for what I paid, would like to know if they were flipped. When I sell I mark them sold but leave the price in the listing. No secrets here.
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Mods have made it clear in the past that they don't want this done, otherwise I would have.

The Amazing Virginian said:
Thanks.


How do you know these folks purchased their knife from a dealer, as opposed to in the secondary market?
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That's the part that makes it tricky (and the fact that people tend to delete their prices after they are sold so I have to catch it while it's active). A lot of the people on the list were added shortly before dealers started jacking up their prices, so it's unlikely that those particular people purchased the knife from a dealer at a huge markup. There is a chance that they purchased it on the secondary market at a huge markup, but I have some fail-safes that help with that a bit. For instance, I only add people to the list if they sell a GEC or Spyderco Sprint/Exclusive right after it has been released. If you have a GEC Caplifter that you've had for a couple of years for sale for $300, you're not going on the list. If a Spyderco Para3 in M390 releases for $140 and you're here on the forums a week later trying to sell it for $300, you're going on the list. If you post something with a 20% - 40% markup, you're probably not going on the list. If you post a knife a recently released knife at a markup once, you're probably not going to make the list. Do it more than once (that I see) and you'll make the list... Etc. Most of the time it's pretty apparent who is trying to take advantage of the members here. They post their marked-up knives like clockwork during every GEC or Spyderco release. I think the forum should be charging them for a Dealer Membership at the very least, but I'd rather just see them shown the door.
 
craytab said:
There you go folks. It was always that easy!

:rolleyes:

But seriously, reread the thread to find out why that isn't an option.
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Ive read all kind of excuses. But maybe you can give me some cliff notes as what you are refrring to?
 
r8shell said:
A small manufacturing business that relies on skilled workers can't easily double production overnight. It requires a significant investment in equipment and training.
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So you are saying they have poor management?
 
colubrid said:
Ive read all kind of excuses. But maybe you can give me some cliff notes as what you are refrring to?
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colubrid said:
So you are saying they have poor management?
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Like I said, reread the thread and pay close attention this time. If you aren't really interested in understanding the problem then I'm not sure why you are responding. r8shell r8shell did a good quick breakdow and that appears to have gone right by you.
 
colubrid said:
So you are saying they have poor management?
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As I own two businesses and contract to a third, maybe I can help shine a bit of light.

One of the businesses I run requires a high level of input that in turn, allows me to charge a premium for the quality of service.

As demand grows, that quality can be diminished by being spread too thin. It takes a significant investment to hire new talent, as well as the equipment and overhead to meet the new demand.

A businessperson must balance what they can effectively manage without over-reaching and degrading the current expectations the existing clientele have come to expect.

You don’t want your product to yo-yo all over the place. It’s a delicate dance.
 
MolokaiRider said:
As I own two businesses and contract to a third, maybe I can help shine a bit of light.

One of the businesses I run requires a high level of input that in turn, allows me to charge a premium for the quality of service.

As demand grows, that quality can be diminished by being spread too thin. It takes a significant investment to hire new talent, as well as the equipment and overhead to meet the new demand.

A businessperson must balance what they can effectively manage without over-reaching and degrading the current expectations the existing clientele have come to expect.

You don’t want your product to yo-yo all over the place. It’s a delicate dance.
Click to expand...


America (americans) have become lazy. Thats why it is hard to find people to do good work. Smart business would move to a 3rd world country (like Indonesia) and train workers there. Or maybe that is a bit to out of the box thinking.
 
colubrid said:
So you are saying they have poor management?
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No, I am saying they have good management.
Have you never seen a business expand too quickly and collapse? It happens.
colubrid said:
America (americans) have become lazy. Thats why it is hard to find people to do good work. Smart business would move to a 3rd world country (like Indonesia) and train workers there. Or maybe that is a bit to out of the box thinking.
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It's so far out of the box that I don't know which wrong statement to respond to first.
 
colubrid said:
America (americans) have become lazy. Thats why it is hard to find people to do good work. Smart business would move to a 3rd world country (like Indonesia) and train workers there. Or maybe that is a bit to out of the box thinking.
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If that is how you choose to run your business that’s your choice.

How do you suggest I move my property management and care business to Indonesia?
 
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